Paleo Chocolate Almond Butter Banana Bites.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better than dipping my spoon into the almond butter jar, slowly drawing it out again, and shoveling it into my mouth with relish…

These came along.

Because, guys, it turns out that you can put nut butters in things instead of just directly into your mouth.

I spied these almond butter bites on the What’s Cooking Good Looking blog and I had to try them. The ingredient list is super simple — just some raw almonds, almond butter, a banana, a bit of cocoa, a pinch of salt, and a single date. Hug them up in the crunchy, almond and cacao nib coating and you’ve got yourself a good time.

To please my intended crowd, I made just a few minor changes to Jodi’s recipe — I upped the chocolate by double and subbed out a small bit of the almond butter for some creamy (homemade!) coconut butter. They turned out perfectly. Chocolately — but not too chocolately — with a smooth, fresh banana sweetness, and, of course, a happy little cacao crunch.

A recipe as simple as this seems to invite all kinds of variations. Next stop cashew butter bites. See you there.

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Paleo Chocolate Almond Butter Banana Bites.

Makes about 16 bites.

Ingredients:

For the bites:

1 cup raw almonds

1 banana

1 date, pitted and diced

2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup almond butter

2 tablespoons coconut butter

a pinch of salt

For the cacao crunch:

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup cacao nibs

a pinch of sea salt

Method:

Place 1 cup of almonds into your food processor and pulse until they are finely ground. Add the banana, date, cocoa powder, almond and coconut butters, and salt and blend until a thick paste forms.

Take about a tablespoon of the paste and roll it into a small ball with your hands and place it on a plate. Continue rolling until all your bites are formed and then put the plate in the freezer for at least 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the cacao crunch by combining all ingredients in the (cleaned) food processor. You should pulse until the mixture is finely ground, but still a little bit chunky.

After the bites have set up in the freezer, roll each of them in the crunch and then return them to freezer for at least an hour. You can keep them in the freezer, where they will keep for a few weeks, until you are ready to eat them. If you do not plan to serve them immediately, you should transfer them from the plate to an air-tight container.